Suction cleaning apparatus



NOV. 23, 1943. A Q DAVIS r 2,334,733

SUCTION CLEANING APPARATUS Filed July 29, 1942 WITNESSES: INVENTOR W FIG" Ail-THUR A. DAVlS. jaw? w "31%? W ITORNEY Patented Nov. 23, 1943 manna S UCTION CLEANING APPARATUS Arthur A. Davis, East Springfield, Mass., assignor' to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 29, 1942, Serial No. 452,727-

7 Claims. (01. 15-16) My invention relates to a suction cleaner for carpets and other floor coverings, and it has for an object to provide an improved cleaner.

A further object is to provide front wheels which support the front end of the cleaner without unduly submergingpin the nap of the carpet, thereby maintaining the nozzle in proper relation to the surface of carpets of different thicknesses without the necessity of effecting manual adjustment for the, various thicknesses.

Another object is to reduce bouncing of the cleaner as it is moved over the carpet in cleans ing operation. 1

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in accordance with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a suction cleaner in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of one group of front wheels; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the rear wheels. I Referring to the drawing in detail, I show a cleaner body In in which there is mounted a fan II and a motor l2 for driving the same. At its front end, the cleaner body is also formed with a conventional nozzle l3 ex tending transversely of the cleaner and communicating with the inlet of the fan ll. A brush roll [4 driven by the motor l2 may be provided in the nozzle :3 in a well-known manner.

The body II] is provided with two groups of front wheels I5 disposed adjacent and just rearwardly of the nozzle l3 on a common axis extending parallel to the nozzle and transversely of the cleaner. In accordancewith the present invention, each front wheel is relatively narrow, inasmuch as I have discovered that the supporting capacity of a wheel is not proportional to its width, but that the supporting capacity, per unit area of contact with the supporting surface, de-- creases as the width becomes greater. Accordingly, I make each wheel relatively narrow, the wheels 15 of the illustrated embodiment having a tread which is inch wide. I have also found tiat the supporting capacity of a group of wheels vazies with the spacing of the wheels, and that the maximum support is obtained when adja-' cent wheels are spaced substantially inch apart, and. that substantially maximum support is cbtained when they are spaced not less than fi inch and not more than {'5 inch apart. Ac-

cordingly, the adjacent wheels it of the illus- 'trated embodiment are spaced A inch apart.

The wheels may be spaced in any suitable manner, as by washers or spacers 20. However, it will be apparent that the wheels I5 and the spacers 20 of each group may be made as an integral structure. Each group of wheels is mounted on the cleaner body in any suitable manner; for example, it'may be mounted on a spindle IS, the ends of which are received in recesses formed in projections I1 and retained therein by washers l8 and cap screws IS.

The cleaner is'also provided with. two rear wheels 2| mounted on the body l0 adjacent the rear end thereof on a transverse axis parallel to the axis of the front wheels l5. The rear wheels 2| may be of the same diameter as the front wheels l5 and each rear wheel 2| may have a tread whose width is equal to the sum of the tread widths of each group of four front wheels l5, which, in this case, is inch. The axes of the front and rear wheels are so located on the body of the cleaner that the mouth of the nozzle I3 is disposed slightly above the plane of the bottom of the front and rear wheels, so that the mouth of the nozzle will be disposed slightly above the surface of the carpet.

'Ahandle 22, formed with a fork 23 at its lower end, is pivoted to the cleaner body by means of a shaft 26 on a horizontal axis indicated at M and extending parallel to the axes of the front and rear wheels. The axis 241s preferably disposed in or slightly below the plane including the axes of the front and the rear wheels and also preferably slightly .-rearwardly of the midpoint therebetween. k

A spring 25 is provided to counterbalance the weight of the handle 22. In the present embodiment, the spring 25 is a helical or torsional spring wound about the shaft 26to which the handle fork 23 is connected. One end of the spring 25 is fixedrelative to the cleaner body at 21, and the other end biases the lever at 28. The action of the spring is to bias the handle forwardly, or in clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 1, relative to the cleaner body I0. I

An electric switch 29 is mounted on the cleaner body if) in such positionas to be engaged by the handle 22 when in its foremost position. This switch is adapted to open the electric circuit to the motor l2 when it is thus engaged by the handle or its fork 2 3. For simplification of illustration, I have shown the switch 29 as mounted be apparent that any arrangement may be used merging in or penetrating the whereby the switch is contacted and opened by some part movable with the handle when the latter is moved to the forwardmost position.

To operate the cleaner. the handle 22 is engaged and moved rearwardly to the region of the full-line position indicated in Fig. 1. The cleaner is then moved back and forth by means of the handle 22 over the carpet or other floor covering to be cleaned. The cleaning operation. of the cleaner is substantially the same as that of previous cleaners. agitates and sweeps the surfaceof the carpet. The fan ll creates a suction which draws the carpet up against the mouth of the nozzle to be engaged by'the brush The brush roll I4 is rotated and roll. ;The suction draws the dust-laden air into the nozzle, from which it flows to the fan and usual manner.

In the operating ferred to, the torsion spring 25 exerts ga fturning moment between the handle and the?" cleaner body, which tends to tilt the cleaner'body in the direction to raise the terclockwise as seen in Fig. 1. This biasing shifts some of the weight from the front wheels to the rear wheels, so that, in normal operation, the rear wheels carry at least twice as much of the weight of the cleaner as .do the front wheels. Because the form of the fron tgwheels gives them greater supporting capacity, as described above, the front wheels are able to carry the reduced weight imposed on them without unduly su'o nap of the carpet. In other words, the front wheels contact the carpet near thesurface thereof and thus maintain the nozzle sumciently above the-surface of the carpet to provide effective cleaning thereof. Accordingly, the cleaner may be used on carpets of different thicknesses without the necessity of manually adjusting the same.

In tests which I have made, I have also found thatbouncing of ,the cleaner as it is moved back and forth during cleaningoperation is reduced as the total Width of tread of the front wheels is divided into a greater number of separated narthen to the dust bag in the row widths of tread, and that the groupof four narrow wheels described herein produces less bouncing than either the relatively wide, single front wheels or the pairs of front wheels of ordi nary width heretofore used.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that itis not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a suction cleaner,the combination of a cleaner body having a -transversely-extending suction nozzle at the frontend thereof, a group of front wheels disposed rearwardly of the nozzle adjacent each end thereof, each group comprising at least three wheels each having a tread that is not more than 4 inch wide and the treads of adjacent front wheels of the group being not less than T36 inch and not more than 1%; inch apart, said front wheels being mounted on said cleaner body for rotation about a fixed axis extending parallel to said nozzle, 9. pair of rear wheels mounted on the cleaner body adjacent the rear end thereof on a fixed axis parallel to the front wheel axis, and a handle pivoted to position of the handle as re:

front end thereof, or coun- ,of front wheels disposed rearwardly of said body on an axis the front wheels providing suflicient support of the forward part of the cleaner, when the cleaner is in normal operation, to prevent the same from unduly sinking into the carpet nap and thereby maintaining said nozzle in proper cleaning relation to the surface of carpets of various thick- IIESSGS.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a cleaner body having a transversely extending suction nozzle at the front end thereof, a group of front wheels disposed rearwardly of the nozzle adjacent each end thereof, each group comprising at least three wheels each having a tread that is not more than inch wide andthe treads of adjacent front wheels of the group being not 7 less than 1% inch and not more than 1 inch apart, said front wheels being mounted on said cleaner body for rotation about a fixed axis extending parallel to said nozzle, a pair of rear wheels mounted on the cleaner body adjacent the rear end thereof on a fixed axis parallel to the front wheel axis, and a handle pivoted to said body on an axis parallel to said wheel axes, the cleaner being constructed and arranged so that,

in normal operation, the rear wheels carry at cleaner body having a transversely-extending suction nozzle at the from; end thereof, a group of front wheels disposed rearwardly of the nozzle adjacent each end thereof, each group comprising at least four wheels each having a tread that is not more than 4 inch wide and the treads of adjacent front wheels of the group being not less than inch and not more than 1% inch apart, said front wheels being mounted on said cleaner body for rotation about a fixed axis extending parallel to said nozzle, a pair of rear the cleaner body adjacent the rear end thereof on a fixed axis parallel to the front wheel axis, the tread of each rear wheel being substantially as wide as the combined width of the treads of each group of front wheels, a handle pivoted to said body group on an axis parallel tosaid wheel axes,'and spring means exerting a turning moment between said handle and said body in the direction to tilt the front end of the cleaner body upwardly, the front wheels providing sufiicient support of the forward part of the cleaner, when the cleaner is biased by said spring means as in normal operation, to prevent the same fromunduly sinking into the carpet nap and thereby maintaining said nozzle in proper of carpets of various thicknesses.

4. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1. wherein each front wheel has a tread that is substantially 4; inch wide and in which the treads of adjacent front wheels are spaced substantially A; inch apart.

5. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a cleaner body having a transversely-extending suction nozzle at the front end thereof, a group the nozzle adjacent each end inch wide and the treads of parallel to said wheel axes,

to the surface cleaning relation to the surface thereof, each group comprisin adjacent front wheels of the group being not -less than inch apart, a pair of rear wheels mounted on the cleaner body adjacent the rear end thereof, and a handle pivoted to said body intermediate said front and rear wheels, the front wheels providing suflicient support of the forward part of the cleaner, when the cleaner is in normal operation, to prevent the same from unduly sinking into the carpet nap and thereby maintaining said nozzle in proper cleaning relation to the surface of carpets of various thicknesses.

6. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 wherein the treads of all the front wheels are of the same diameter.

I. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 5 wherein the treads of all the front wheels are of the same diameter.

ARTHUR A. DAVIS. 

